ADT JOURNAL: CHAPTER 34

This journal was typed at the Ely Gift Boutique courtesy of Donna. It was
mailed on the Internet from the Copper Queen Casino, courtesy of Mark.

August 8, Friday
We had a busy day touring the city of San Francisco with Sue and Wes's Son,
Jeremy. We caught Bart (the public transit system, not the trail) into town
and revisited Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, etc. That evening
we went to a local production of the play "Bye Bye Birdie". It was a really fun
day.

August 9, Saturday
Wes, Susan, Jeremy, and we drove down to Fort Mason by San Francisco Bay and
attended Sedge Thomson's "West Coast Live", a nationally broadcast radio
show. He interviewed a couple of authors and we heard two musical groups. Another
group from Washington DC, called "Capitol Steps", did some political satire
skits and songs. They were hilarious. One of the show's standard features is for
members of the audience to tell true and interesting stories of how they came
to be at this broadcast. These are written on small cards. Ours was probably
one of the most unusual and was selected and read. We received a nice round of
applause from the audience. Next, we drove down the switchbacks of Lombard
Street, rode through downtown, and then went home to chill out for the rest
of the day.

August 10, Sunday
We caught Bart to Oakland to board Amtrak to Reno. We were able to just roll
our bikes onto the Bart train but we each had a box with some of our gear
balanced precariously on top of our back rack. When we got to Oakland we had
to walk this contraption about a mile to the Amtrak station with Laurie
dropping her box three times. At Amtrak we transferred our bikes to boxes, taking off
the pedals and handlebars. We took a quick tour of Jack London Village but
the train was on time so we couldn't linger.

Upon reaching Colfax, CA, we sat in the station for a while when they
announced that a broken down freight train was ahead of us and we would be delayed
until they could get a helper engine to come move it. The delay turned into two
and a half hours so we arrived in Reno at 8:20 pm instead of the scheduled 5:45
pm. The train can be fun but when they have problems, you need to be mellow (like
Bill). We did, however, see some fantastic scenery in the Sierras and we
rode through Donner Pass. At the Reno station we unpacked our bikes, reloaded our
bikes, and rode two blocks to Fitzgerald Casino for the night.

August 11, Monday
Tim Holmen, whom we met on-line as VibramMan@aol.com,
lives in Reno and offered to help us when we reached Nevada. True to his word, he graciously agreed to
pick us up at our hotel and ferry us and the bikes to Fort Churchill Road.
Since we planned to ride paved roads through Nevada, we did not return to
Hooten Well, but started our ride 12 miles west of there. In this way we
could continue our trip east from a point we had previously ridden to.

On the road before 10 am, we pedaled north on Alternate US 95 to US 50 and
headed east. We were pleased that the heat wave that passed through the area
last week had dissipated and the temperatures were only in the high eighties.

Large Lake Lahontan looked like an oasis surrounded by only sagebrush and
golden mountains. There were even three large waterfowl (geese?) swimming on
the lake. We were able to make good time on the paved road so we reached
Fallon by 2 pm even with a stop for Bill to get a haircut.

34.6 miles, 13.3 mph, 2 hours 35 minutes 3525 total miles biked

August 12, Tuesday
On the road to beat the heat by 6 am we started east on US 50. US 50 east of
Fallon is nicknamed "The Loneliest Road in America". When Life Magazine
coined that term in 1986, the writer had obviously never ridden on any of the roads
traveled by the American Discovery Trail. Actually, there was quite a bit of
traffic on it, at least by the standards we have developed over the past 5
months. We did a vehicle count for one half hour and counted about one car
per minute, not very lonely in our book! In most places we had a good shoulder
to ride on and everyone who passed us was pretty courteous about moving into the
left lane when possible.

We had a few long but easy hills early in the morning and we reached
Middlegate Station by 11:30 am. This was a stop on the Pony Express Route and the
saloon looked almost that old  lots of character. Carolyn, the waitress, took good
care of us and the Nevadans we were meeting were all very friendly and interested
in our story. After lunch, we rode 14 more miles to Cold Springs Station, our
intended destination. This place also has a lot of character and friendly
people. Lisa makes a pretty tasty milkshake as Laurie had one and Bill drank two.
After it cooled off, we pitched our tent and camped in one of their RV sites.

62.6 miles, 11.7 mph, 5 hours 19 minutes 3588 miles biked total

August 13, Wednesday
This had been one long trip and the miles and days are continue to wear on me
(Laurie). I think one of the things I miss most is the feeling that there
are others out here trying to do the same thing. Although we see people in towns
and they are often curious about our trip, there is no one to commiserate
with on the tough parts. We have seen no backpackers at all except on the
Colorado Trail and the four miles of the Pacific Crest Trail that we traveled. We
have seen no one touring on bicycles. I imagine the day will come when others
will travel this trail and a community similar to those found on the Appalachian
Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail will develop. But, to be one of the first on the
Trail, has this isolation as one of its challenges. For now, I am enjoying seeing
some cars while riding on US 50. Some wave or extend a "thumbs up" as we pedal
across the vast sagebrush covered valleys interrupted only by mountain
passes. We have been making a real effort to get started early here in Nevada. Any
miles done after about 11 am are definitely hot and there is no shade in
which to take a break. Our start this morning was delayed by a flat tire caused by
a thorn. Our early miles went quickly but we were straggling by the time we
reached Austin, which we had expected to be an easier day of only 50 miles.
Given this, we knew we would have trouble with our 70 mile segment scheduled
for tomorrow. So we went to the local bike shop and arranged for a shuttle
of 6 miles over to the top of Bob Scott Summit. We then rode back to Austin so
we could eliminate some of tomorrow's climb and mileage. Tomorrow morning, Rick
is to pick us up at 5 am and take us back to Bob Scott Summit so we can ride
east.

59.3 miles, 10.1 mph, 5 hours 51 minutes 3648 total miles biked

August 14, Thursday
Rick Crawford, the owner of Tyrannosaurus Rix Mountain Bike Shop, picked us
up and took us to Bob Scott Summit before dawn. Although he has been in
business only a year he is doing much to promote mountain biking in this area
and has organized a race for later this month. He had not returned from Las
Vegas to get supplies for this race until 1:30 am but he still would not take
any money for getting up so early this morning to shuttle us.

It seems that the people in these small Nevada towns are used to travelling
long distances. When we asked at a small general/grocery store where the people
in Austin do their grocery shopping, we were told they must drive 110 miles to
Fallon.

Our biking days in Nevada have fallen into a routine. On the road before
dawn, we shed our longsleeve shirts about 20 minutes after sunrise. By 8 am we are
ready for a mid-morning snack. At 9 am, we lather up with sunblock. At 10
am we put on our neck coolers and by 11 am we are drinking our electrolyte
solution  Hydra Fuel. We try to be through biking by noon. Even though the
afternoon sun is intense, we are surprised that hardly any building in these
high desert towns is air conditioned. Even in the afternoon, it is fairly
cool in the shade and since the nights are distinctly cool, 50 degrees, there is no
need for it.

There has been a major change in our riding here in Nevada. Laurie is now
able to keep up with Bill. At first Laurie thought Bill was getting mellow and
slowing down for her. But, he assured her he was not. So the reason appears to be
Laurie's new tires. Before leaving California she got two new slick tires on
her bike, since we knew we would be riding mostly on pavement and we shipped her
knobbier tires home. It seems to be making a real difference. :-))

We spent the night in Eureka, an old mining town which is enjoying a new
influx of money due to some recent gold strikes. The town is using some of its new
wealth to restore it's historic buildings.

63.5 miles, 13.4 mph, 4 hours 42 min 3711 miles total biked

August 15, Friday
The 77 mile stretch between Eureka and Ely looked very intimidating to us
with its four mountain passes to cross with no towns, stores, or water sources in
between, except for an RV park 15 miles east of Eureka. Bill learned there
was a ranch next to the highway at the 45 mile mark which would provide a perfect
place to break this section into two days. He was able to call the ranch
last night and received assurance we could camp there and get water. Still, this
left us with three passes to cross with more than 3,000 feet elevation gain.

We were on the road by 5 am, well before sunrise, but with the faint glow, we
could see the road. We immediately climbed 800 feet over Pinto Summit and
then coasted 8 miles to the RV park which wasn't open yet. Next, Bill got another
puncture in his tire (our third flat in as many days) and he replaced the
tube and used duct tape on the tire. The climb over Pancake Summit was a breeze
and we didn't have to walk any of it. Little Antelope Summit was a bit more
difficult but then we coasted 8 miles down a rugged canyon and turned into
the Moorman Ranch. Kathy Neal greeted us and offered to let us stay in their
guest house. We couldn't believe our good fortune. It was a totally furnished two
bedroom house with a washing machine even.

Later, Kathy and husband Jack and daughter Candy and we took a 30 mile ride
in their 4 wheel drive pickup truck into the mountains to deliver ten 50
pound salt blocks to various places for their cattle. The Neals manage 300 square
miles of land, mostly of it Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. 85% of the land
in Nevada is owned by the federal government (BLM, Forest Service, Military).

This was a totally awesome ride. We rode past rugged rocky canyons, up
really steep hills, and ended up on top of a 9,000 foot mountain with views in every
direction. We saw a coyote, several deer, and eight wild horses.

When we returned to the ranch, they invited us to dinner. In talking with
the Neals, they said their nearest neighbors lived 30 miles away. We also got a
rancher's perspective of the BLM, Forest Service, and environmentalists. It
seems everyone we have met in the West shares similar views. The wonderful
hospitality made this an outstanding stop and we were glad we decided not to
try for the full 77 miles today.

45.9 miles, 11 mph, 4 hours 9 minutes 3758 total miles biked

August 16, Saturday
It felt luxurious sleeping in until 5:20 am this morning due to our planned
shorter day. We had to tackle only one pass before passing Ruth, the site of
Nevada's largest copper mine, and then entering Ely. A stop at the Post
Office brought us our mail from home and some bills to pay. Yes, even out here we
have to deal with paying bills. We plan a day off in Ely before finishing
Nevada. Searching for a computer to write our journal, we found a local gift shop and
the owner was willing to let us use her computer.